Berkeley Hotel Fire Damage Estimate: $200,000

By Bay City News Service

A three-alarm fire at a residential hotel in downtown Berkeley on Tuesday morning caused about $200,000 in damage, a fire official said Wednesday.

The fire was reported at 7:41 a.m. at the three-story Nash Hotel, located at 2045 University Ave., Berkeley acting Deputy Fire Chief Avery Webb said.

Firefighters controlled the blaze at 8:25 a.m.

Webb said the fire appears to have started in a second-floor unit, but the cause remains under investigation. He said it is not clear whether the fire was accidental.

Although only about half of the building's 40 units were in use at the time of the fire, a number of residents needed help evacuating.

Twelve ladder rescues were made because heavy smoke made it difficult for the roughly 20 residents to get out on their own, Webb said.

"There were a lot of people exiting in way that wasn't ideal," Webb said.

Four residents were medically evaluated at the scene, but otherwise no other injuries were reported, Webb said.

Evacuations were also ordered at the nearby University Hotel at 2057 University Ave., but people were able to return to their rooms there later in the morning, Webb said.

The fire damage was limited mostly to one room on the second floor and that hallway. However, there was water and smoke damage and some knocked-down doors on the second and third floors.

The structural damage amounted to about $180,000, according to Webb. There was also about $20,000 in damage to the building's contents.

The utilities in the building have been shut off, and building inspectors have yellow-tagged the hotel, making the building temporarily uninhabitable, Webb said.

The American Red Cross is providing long-term hotel residents with three-day accommodations, while short-stay residents found other hotels to go to or accepted overnight assistance and other resources from the Red Cross, Webb said.

Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. – Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.